Research & Insights
The Struggies: Gopuff’s Inaugural Award For The Most Hungover Cities on New Year’s Eve
Looking into data around the thousands of alcohol products available on Gopuff, we’ve awarded which cities in the U.S. will be partying hard and smartest this New Year’s Eve
December 29, 2021
There are two types of people on New Year’s Eve: those who go hard, and those who go home. To both, we say, go forth! No matter your vibe, we got you covered. It’s a given that some of us are going to be hungover this year, so we thought we’d have a little fun with it…
Looking at order data of the thousands of alcohol products on Gopuff, which includes beer, wine, champagne, seltzers and spirits of all varieties, and purchases of hangover remedies, we ranked which cities across the U.S. are most likely to be hungover this year, and which will be recovering the quickest. Here’s the “Twisted Tea:”
Most Hungover Cities
Based on which cities are buying the most alcohol on New Year’s Eve compared to any other typical night on Gopuff, Lincoln, NE ranks as the city most likely to be hungover this New Year’s Day. Last New Year’s Eve, Lincoln bought 300+% more alcohol on Gopuff. Their preferred bevvy? Mike’s Harder Lemonade. That’s a lot of hard lemonade.
Here’s who also tops the list for biggest increase in alcohol sales on New Year’s Eve:
Miami, FL
Dallas, TX
San Antonio, TX
Louisville, KY
Newark, NJ
Austin, TX
Virginia Beach, VA
Springfield, MO
Phoenix, AZ
Key takeaway: we’re kind of basic. Across the board, people can’t lay off the sweet stuff on New Year’s. Whether White Claw, TRULY, Twisted Tea, Mike’s Hard Lemonade or Andre champagne, we just can’t get enough.
Shout out to Virginia Beach for being the most unique though. Not only is this town the most down with Buzzballs (of all things), it’s the only one that doesn’t have champagne in its list of top purchased products on New Year’s Eve.
Newark also deserves a little limelight for being the only town with wine in its list of top purchased products on New Year’s Eve, and also vodka.
Partying Hard, Recovering Fast
Digging a little deeper, we ranked which towns are partying the hardest and recovering the fastest:
Allentown, PA takes the cake here. Folks in this town are serious about their New Year’s Eve and their recovery. There’s a nearly 300% increase in alcohol sales on New Year’s vs. a typical Thursday in Allentown, and a nearly 200% increase in hangover products. What are they drinking? No surprise, more of the sweet stuff. Among the top products purchased by Allentownites on New Year’s Eve are Seagram’s Escapes wine coolers, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Twisted Tea.
Allentown is followed by:
Syracuse, NY
El Paso, TX
Philadelphia, PA
Richmond, VA
Chicago, IL
Don’t worry, we’re still basic. Not only are folks in these towns also gravitating toward sweet drinks – seltzers, spiked teas and lemonades, champs, etc. – Pedialyte is a clear fan favorite to nurse their New Year’s hangovers across the board. (But, don’t forget Gopuff has tons of remedies, including Advil, The Plug, Liquid I.V., Goody’s powder mixes, and even a made- to-order “Hangover Sandwich” from Gopuff Kitchen!).
Honorable mentions go to Richmond, VA, our hometown of Philadelphia and El Paso, TX. Out of nowhere, Richmond was the city that over-indexed most on champagne, and Philly takes the crown for loving the hardest on seltzers. El Paso was the only town drinking Michelob and Dos Equis.
Just for Fun
Separately, we also looked into the most popular types of alcohol in America throughout all of 2021. Here are the top five brands in the beer, wine, spirit and seltzer/spiked drink categories:
Top Beer Brands of 2021
Bud Light
Corona
Miller
Modelo
Budweiser
Top Seltzer/Spiked Drink Brands of 2021
White Claw
Truly
Twisted Tea
Mike’s Hard
Four Loko
Top Wine Brands of 2021
Barefoot
Bota Box
Andre
Dark Horse
Josh Cellars
Top Spirit Brands of 2021
Fireball
Smirnoff
New Amsterdam
Svedka
Tito’s
No matter if you go big or go home, Gopuff is here to deliver everything you need. We hope you’ll spend New Year’s Eve with us.
Methodology
To identify the metros most likely to be hungover, Gopuff looked at which metros over-indexed on New Year’s Eve alcohol sales compared to a typical winter Thursday, and ranked them based on their individual spike in alcohol sales. To identify the top metros that party hard and know how to recover, Gopuff looked into which metros over-indexed on both New Year’s Eve alcohol sales compared to a typical winter Thursday and over-indexed on New Year’s Day hangover product sales compared to a typical winter Friday, ranked based on their individual spike in alcohol sales. The top alcohol brands in 2021 are the most popular brands in their respective categories on Gopuff, based on unit volume, year to date.
